The Academy
by Canadian Spark
Summary: Harry Potter has just been accepted to Hogwarts Academy, and finds himself dealing with a snarky professors, snotty students, and inner turmoil. How will he cope?


Well, after reading countless Snarry stories written by others I've decided that it is time for me to write one of my own! I have read so many different stories that I've been thoroughly inspired to write this one, though I don't know where it will lead!

The black haired teen was leaning against a mailbox, one hand in his pocket, the other one holding a cold slice of pizza. He ate the pizza with half lidded eyes, focusing on remaining upright and listening for the sound of the bus coming his way.

"Harry!" a deep voice sounded from around the corner. "Hey Harry!" they called again when they got no response.

"Honestly Ron, could you keep it down? Not everyone has to be up at 7 in the morning. Besides, you know how Harry is in the morning, never very responsive. I wouldn't be surprised if he fell asleep again." A girl with frizzy auburn hair gave the redhead beside her a whack on the shoulder.

"Ow, Hermione! Come on, I was just trying to get his attention!" Ron's freckled face burned a deep shade of red.

The two of them approached Harry, who was still gazing vacantly ahead of him with his eyelids drooping occasionally. He finally turned his head to look at them and gave a lopsided grin. "Hey guys, sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night."

Hermione frowned at him, giving him a once over with her eyes. "Harry James Potter, you're slouching like a slob, you've got pizza sauce on your mouth and you look like you're about to pass out. Is that _any_ was to show up for the first day at a new school? You worked so hard to get into my school, and when you _finally _get in, you look like a complete wreck!" She pursed her lips, and her hands rested on her hips.

"Oh gee, thanks for my 'Mione. Always nice to know I look like a pig. I'll look better once they give me my new uniform, so calm down" He turned his gaze to Ron, who was gaping at Hermione. "Oi Ron, how goes life?"

Ron, finally overcoming the shock of Hermione's rather blunt statements, turned and grinned at Harry. "You know, same as always. Dads been putting in extra hours at work, and moms been going crazy because she has to deal with us even longer without him. I think she's a little stressed since George and Fred let the baby mice loose in the kitchen, but hey, it could have been their fireworks display in the living room too." He shrugged, and walked to the edge of the curb to stare down the street and look for the bus.

Harry couldn't suppress his chuckling, despite Hermione glaring a hole through the back of his skull. "Fred and George, man, I'm going to miss going to school with them. Their pranks always made exam week so fun." He glanced back at Hermione "Oh come on 'Mione, you know they can be really funny."

Hermione's hair seemed to inflate a big more as she drew in a deep breath. "No, they really _aren't_ funny. Not for Ron's mother. Their antics are childish and can be downright cruel. Remember what they did to that kid? Colin Creevy? That poor boy _still_ doesn't like walking down the gym hallway."

A snort escaped Ron. "That kid shouldn't have been snapping pictures in the boys locker room then. All they did was take one little picture of him to show him how it felt to be so exposed."

"Ronald, taking a picture of someone's genitals and displaying them all over the gym hallway is _not_ an appropriate way to correct someone's behaviour."

"Well Hermione, you have to admit, Colin hasn't been taking pictures at school since then." Harry added, grinning at her.

"Bus is coming." Ron said, stepping back from the curb and reaching into his pocket for his pass. "You know, huge family like mine, you'd think they would have more than one car to go around. Buying these monthly passes is killing my bank account."

"Well Ronald, perhaps if you didn't spend all your money on videogames you'd have some more to go around and wouldn't worry so much about a bus pass." Hermione shot at him.

Ron glanced at Harry, and rolled his eyes. Harry hid a smirk.

All three of them got on the bus quickly, moving to sit in their usual spots. Ron shared a row with Harry, which Hermione sat down beside Pansy Parkinson. They made small talk as the bus lumbered along.

Within twenty minutes Ron stood up from his seat, clicking the button on the pole nearest to him so a 'ding' resounded through the bus, alerting the driver to stop at the next stop. "Well guys, this is where we part. We still meeting up after school at Diagon?"

"Well see you there Ron." Harry waved.

"You know Ronald, if you just worked a bit harder at your academics we could all be going to the same school together…" Hermione started, but was cut off when Ron got off the bus. She instead turned to Harry "Oh Harry, would you _please_ wipe that pizza sauce off of your mouth?"

Harry swiped at his face with his sleeve, and looked up. "Better?"

"Much." She replied, and she went back to talking with Pansy.

Harry stared out the window of the bus, watching the scenery go by lazily. He rested his head against the cool glass and closed his emerald eyes.

It had been a long couple of weeks.

He had attended Durmstrang High all of the previous year, and hated it with a passion. The teachers were all deadbeats, many of them barely knowing the subject they taught. The students were even worse however, most of them came from not-so-desirable families. Not that Harry could boast either.

He himself had lived with distant relatives for most of his life. His parents had died in a car accident when he was only seven, and he was stuck in a foster home for a year until family could be found.

And there came the Dursleys. They lived in the picture perfect suburbs, with the grass all cut the same, the houses painted the same, the flowers planted the same, and children were all meant to act the same, and where everyone was friendly with everyone. Except Harry.

His aunt and uncle had not wanted to adopt him, they were swayed only when they were told they would receive government funding in order to raise him. He saw a tiny portion of that money, most of it went to his oversized cousin Dudley.

But, Harry still couldn't complain all that much. They didn't have many house rules for him, mainly because they didn't care what he did so long as nothing of theirs got stolen, broken, or sold. It was this indifference towards him that allowed him to get his own apartment at the age of twelve, without the government's knowledge of course.

Whenever they were sending a social worker to see him, they always phoned ahead at the Dursleys. They would in turn, phone him, and tell him to get his butt back to their house for a little while to make it look as if he were still living their. That way, they kept getting the money for him. He would take one of Dudley's countless rooms and stick a couple of personal items in the house until the social worker had evaluated. Then, he was straight off on his own again.

His aunt and uncle sent him 250 out of the 1500 they got a month to 'raise' him so that he could pay part of his rent. He worked two jobs to earn the rest of his money.

While his jobs weren't the most glamorous, it still kept him in his own apartment and he enjoyed it. He worked as a bartender at the local strip club, despite the fact that he was only seventeen. Sometimes, at night he was allowed to dance there to earn extra money. Not the most desirable profession, but it definitely raked in the cash.

His second job was at the local library, where he sorted through books and showed people where to find them all day. He usually did this on the weekends, or during lunches at school. It didn't give him much money, but he loved the quiet atmosphere that was so different from the one at his other job.

That library was one of the reasons he got into his new school. A private academy called Hogwarts, one that stressed academic success and achievement. He had spent long hours studying after the library was closed, and eventually got the grades to get into the school. Hermione had attended there already, so she was listed as a reference on his application.

It was officially his first day today, after going there for many different assessment tests he was finally going to enter the building as a student, not an applicant.

He was drawn out of his deep thinking, and forced to open his eyes when he heard Hermione calling his name. She was standing near the bus doors, and informing him that it was time to get off.

He stood up, grabbing his bag off of the floor and hoisting it onto his shoulder. He walked to the bus's back doors and followed Hermione out, allowing her to lead and chat until they reached the school gates.

When they were granted access thanks to Hermione's school I.D. card, they both marched up to the castle-like building ahead of them, ready to start a brand new year at Hogwarts Academy for Gifted Individuals.

So, that was the beginning. Sorry, no Snape yet! He will make an appearance in the next chapter. As you probably noticed, this is AU, and set in a non-magical world. I've had this instead revolve around today's society. There will still be aspects of the HP series present here, but you'll have to wait to see what they are! ;)

**When I get at least five reviews I will update this. **


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